


A Heavy Crown

by nightfallgoddess



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: AU, AU shadowworld, Angst, Arranged Marriage, Break Up, Clary is confused and conflicted, Confession, Downworlder racism, F/M, Hurt, Izzy is fab of course, Jace is protective, Lydia is perfect and broken, M/M, Multi, Pain, Sadness, Shadowhunters - Freeform, Simon is....well Simon, Valentine is an evil meany head
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-02
Updated: 2016-06-15
Packaged: 2018-05-17 19:35:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 16,929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5882887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nightfallgoddess/pseuds/nightfallgoddess
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Valentine Morgenstern has returned to the shadow world, and he is building something forbidden. The New York Institute is on high alert, because they have the one thing that Valentine needs. The Mortal Cup. Alec Lightwood is faced with the task of restoring his family's name. But, how much is he willing to give up? Clary Fray is faced with the blunt reality of the world she is now part of. The fear of her father, has begun to manifest, and she isn't sure who she is anymore. Can her connection with Jace, help her overcome the darkness of her bloodline? Can Alec find the courage to follow his heart? Can all of them come together and fight the evil that Valentine is brewing? Follow this epic story about love, duty, family, and friendship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

 

 

Alec makes his way towards Magnus's Brooklyn loft in hurried steps. The chill air makes his lungs ache and sting, as he wraps his knit scarf more tightly around his neck. After a few minutes, he is standing in front of the door, the door that he has, over the past month become so very acquaint with. Without having to knock, the door opens with a swift woosh.

Before he can say anything, Magnus leans up to kiss him. Just like all the kisses they have shared, the kiss takes his breath away. It's almost as if Magnus is like air, so vital and sweet. Alec's hand finds its way inside dark soft hair, as their bodies press closer to one another.

He has to hold on to the door frame to prevent himself from falling to his knees, his wobbly legs are barely keeping him upright. Like an ink stain to a paper, Alec's mind shuts down as he realizes what he came there to do.

He pulls away.

"Magnus."

Dark brown eyes look up at him, with a hint of mischief and lust. Alec has to step around Magnus and enter into the Warlock's loft, to stop himself from kissing him again. This isn't the right time. He can't try to prolong this. He can't pretend that things will just disappear, that he can actually be himself.

"Darling, If you came here to ask me to conjure up another spell for Clary, the answer is no," Magnus says, with a teasing tone.

With cat like procession, the high warlock of Brooklyn makes his way towards him. His skin glowing with glitter, and his hair astray from when they had shared their kiss at the door.

"No-Magnus. I-uh...I need to tell you something," Alec eyes avert the now, cat-like eyes that are focused on him.

Without a word, Magnus sits down next to the quiet Shadowhunter. This is the first time, in a long time, that Magnus has seen Alec so closed off. After being with him for almost a month, he was sure that he had unlocked Alec. Magnus had made it his duty to make Alec smile, that beautiful smile of his, every chance he could. To watch that dangerous blush rise to his cheeks, whenever Magnus paid him a compliment. Those were the moments that he locked away in his heart-the Alec Lightwood that only he got to see.

"Alec darling, you know I always have time for you, but this is pushing it. We've been sitting here for fifteen minutes, and you haven't said a word."

Alec winces. He's trying, he really is. But, he just can't find the words or rather, he doesn't want to find the words.

-

His mother and father had summoned him to the conference room, where Clave meetings are held. At first, he had been confused that it was only him being called upon, and not Izzy or Jace, or even Clary. He had walked inside the room with calculated steps and a hardened exterior. He and his parents haven't had the best relationship after he died....after Max died.

"Alexander, sit down," his mother had said, with  a quiet force. Her face had had no emotion, and she had almost looked like she was staring right through him, instead of at him.

"You are the eldest child, and that means you bare a great deal of responsibilities," she had continued.

Alec had nodded. He knew what he had to carry. He knew that he had to clean the Lightwood name. He has always known.

"And...with these responsibilities, come sacrifices."

His mother had paused after she had said these words. She had almost looked sad, but like a fleeting bird, it was gone and she had gone back to being Maryse Lightwood.

His father had then spoken up. "Your mother and I have made a marriage contract with the Branwell family. They have agreed to betroth you and their eldest daughter, Lydia Branwell in return for all charges on our family to be dropped."

Alec had felt his stomach drop in that very moment. _An arranged marriage?_ With Lydia Branwell? Lydia Branwell is from the Fairchild bloodline twice removed, meaning she and Clary were distant, distant, cousins. Alec had encountered her briefly at a few of the Clave meetings, the few that his parents had allowed him to attend. 

He had recalled her strawberry blond hair, a tinge lighter that Clary's. In fact, the two of them looked a lot of like, and even acted alike. They both have abrasive attitudes, but while Clary smiled and laughed, Lydia did not.

Her mother was killed by a vampire clan, during a mission in Slovakia. The clan had ambushed the small group of Shadowhunters blindly. No one had survived the attack, and Emilia Branwell had been one of the causalities. It was known through out the Clave as the Slovakian ambush. The Branwell family was left with Lydia, her father, and her two younger sisters. The Branwells have been a well reviewed family in the shadow world. There drive and persistence, have precedes the best. It's no surprise that his parents chose her. She is as honorable as it gets.

"When is the ceremony?" those had been the first words out of his mouth, when his father had finished. His heart had been breaking bit by piece as the words had began to sink in, but his voice had been strong and unwavered. This was what he had to do. He had to be a leader, the eldest Lightwood, a _Shadowhunter_.

"In two weeks."

Alec had clenched his jaw. _So soon?_

"The Branwells want to establish the partnership in front of the council. Joining are two families together, not only clears all the misconception of our family, but makes them just as strong. Together, our families will become one of the most well known and renowned families in the Clave."

He had only nodded, words had escaped him. After that, his parents had gone over the contract details, and the arrangements for the ceremony, that would be held in Idirs, the shadowhunter homeland. A public ceremony. It was like Alec was a piece of meat being tagged and sold to the first ornate Shadowhunter.

After the meeting, he had found himself outside the institute balcony, overlooking the twinkling lights of New York. This would be his future-his curse.

-

"I'm getting married," Alec says in a monotone voice. His head is down and he can't help but hear the small sharp intake of the other man's breath. This is what he has been afraid of. He just found him, he just found his light-his love, and now he has to throw it away as if it were one of his broken arrows.

"Alexand-" Magnus starts.

"Stop. Please. I-I can't..please don't call me that," his voice shakes as he looks up with pleading eyes. 

Magnus pauses before he starts again. "Alec. I don't-know what say."

Alec shakes his head sadly, with a small laugh he says,"there is nothing to say, Magnus. I can't-we can't be together. I'm being wedded off like I'm some helpless princess," he finishes with another bitter laugh.

The cat eyes disappear, and Alec's now looking at brown broken eyes, he turns away.

"We can run away," Magnus says, almost too quiet for Alec to hear. It breaks his already fragmented heart into desolate pieces.

Alec looks up. His heart is pounding rapidly in his chest. He knows that if he sinks into the blossom of the idea, that he will never be able to stop himself.

"You know how powerful I am. You know that I can disappear in a snap and no one can find me. We can, Alec. We can run away, never come back. W-we can be together, just the two of us, exploring the world together like you've always wanted.

"Magnus," he says in a low voice.

"Don't you want this? Don't you want me?" Alec winces at the accusatory tone.

"You know how I feel. I want this. I want this more than you can fathom. I-I- just. I can't do that. I'm the eldest, I have to do this. My duty will always be, first to my family...and second to my heart."

The silence between them is deafening as Alec's word's echo in the small space between them, on the couch.

"I'm sure you can get over me. I'm certain I wont be your last Shadowhunter," Alec scoffs bitterly. 

Magnus flinches away from him as if he had just been slapped. This is not the Alec he knows.

Magnus says quietly, "you're my first of many things, Alexander, and you'll be my last of many things." He raises himself from his seat. "I think you should leave."

Alec's bitter smile wavers slightly. It is shortly replaced with a thin line. Without another word, the taller boy makes his way to the door he had walked through just only thirty minutes before. Magnus watches the retreating figure take a piece of his heart with every step. Alec has made his choice. And for once, Magnus wanted to believe that someone would have chosen him, and yet again, Magnus was wrong.

"You know I never wanted this, right?" Alec turns around to face him. Magnus doesn't say anything.

"I'm sorry," Alec mutters as he opens the door to leave. Just like that, the door is clicked shut and Magnus is alone, frozen, and heartbroken. Again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

The sound of an arrow hitting a board, fills the weapons room. Alec lifts up his bow again to release another. It has only been two days since he broke things off with Magnus. Two days that have felt like two years.

 When Magnus had proposed them running away together, it took about all his strength not to break down and say yes. Being with Magnus made him happy, so damn happy. He would have preferred to be able to travel the world and experience different things with the one person who has already seen it all.

But, just like his mother had said, ‘life isn’t about what you want to do, it is about what needs to be done’, and he needs to do what is good for his family. For the Institute, for Izzy, for Jace, and for _Max_.

The first time that he and Magnus had kissed, he had been the one to initiate. They had shared cocktails on their second date, so they both had been a little tipsy. Magnus's cheeks had been flushed, as they sat together on his bed, talking. His hair then, had been tousled and highlighted with glitter, that made his hair look like the night sky.

The moment Alec’s lips had close the gap between them, was the moment he had fallen. Magnus’s lips had been surprisingly soft and smooth. Alec can still remember the taste of them. Alec had been hesitant and nervous, while Magnus had been firm and assuring. Magnus had lead, and he had followed helplessly. There hands had found themselves entwined together as they had deepened the kiss. Alec has been in battle many times in his career as a shadowhunter, but nothing had prepared him for the scorching heat of his first kiss. Magnus had been the greatest opponent he had ever faced. On the battle field, Alec would have gladly surrendered to.

Wanting Magnus had scared him at first. His parents would have never approved, especially being involved with a downworlder, even if Magnus was a High Warlock. Before Alec had met Magnus, he had had an perception of downwolders. A negative one. He had always been taught that, downworlders were deceitful and were never to be trusted. That they were beneath,  shadowhunters. Meeting Magnus changed that. Magnus had showed him that the shadow world wasn’t just black and white, but rather gray, and a splash of glitter. 

He shakes his head from the memory. If he keeps thinking about Magnus, he’ll never find the strength do what he has to do. Alec walks to the board and takes out his casted arrows. He hears healed footsteps behind him.

“I’m not in the mood to talk, Izzy.” He can smell her lilac perfume from where he’s standing, she must have just gotten back from her "meeting" with Meliron.

“Alec,” She says in a quiet voice. Alec has been avoiding both her and Jace for the past two days, making sure to stay in the training room or his bedroom. They didn’t need to see him like this.

“Alec, please. Talk at me.” He turns around slowly, his arrows clutched in his hands. His sister is dressed in a long white dress, buttoned and styled conservatory.  He sees that their mother’s berating words had already began to make an impact on her. This is the most covered up he has ever seen her. He wasn't sure if he liked it, or not. It wasn't Izzy.

“You’re my brother, and I’m your sister. I know when you’re in pain…I know when you’re hurting.”

Alec’s hands tightened around his arrows.

“I talked to Magnus,” Izzy announces.

He looks up at the mention of the warlock. Magnus and Izzy had grown close the past couple of weeks, ever since their first encounter with him and their incident with the memory demon. Magnus had gifted Izzy with an enchanted ruby pendant that once belonged to his past lover, Camille Belcourt. Izzy hasn’t taken it off, since.

“Izzy, I said I’m _not_ in the mood.” He rigidly walks to the weapon rack to put his arrows and bow back on their hook, his back facing her.

“You’re never in the mood.”

“Exactly.”

Alec grabs his towel and wipes the sweat off his face. He can feel Izzy’s dark eyes probing him. As much as he tries to dismiss his feelings around his sister, Izzy always finds a way to break his mask.

“You and Magnus broke up.” It was a single statement that rocked him to the core. Hearing it from someone else’s mouth made it much more real.

“Yes,” he said in an exhausted sigh.

“Why?”

“It’s not your concern.”

Izzy blinks at him in shock, her eyes wide and her lips purse. Alec knows he has hurt her by talking to her in that way. It was the same way their mother talked to her. He opens his mouth to apologize.

“Dammit, Alec! Why are you always so angry, so hard, so closed off? I try all the time to give your space, to let you do your own thing. I just want to be there for you. You’re my family-my brother! And it's not fair that I always tell you about my feelings, and you never do. Why do you always have a switch that never turns on?” Izzy’s face is flushed from her yelling, her hair loose from her bun, held together by chopsticks.

A silence falls around them as Izzy’s words reverberate between them. Her chest is rising wildly as she tries to calm herself down. After another few seconds of silence coming from Alec, Izzy straightens up and smooths out her hair and dress.

“Why won’t you trust me?” She asks him, her voice timid, unlike Alec has ever heard  her.

She continues, “What are you so afraid of?”

“Myself,” Alec answers, softly. This is a part of him that he has fought so hard to shroud from everyone, even from Magnus. He has always felt a need to do what is right, what will make his parents acknowledge him, what will keep his siblings safe. He has hidden so much of himself from the people that he loves, that he doesn’t even know who he is anymore.

Alec shakes his head. “Forget I said anything. I just-I’m tired, Izzy. Can we talk about this another time, when I’m not feeling like I’m going to collapse from exhaustion?”

A finely plucked eyebrow raises at him, and he can tell that she will not be letting go what he had just admitted.

“Alec!”

They both look up to see their golden haired brother jogging towards them, a trail of red hair not far behind him. Alec fights the urge to not roll his eyes, but as always, he fails. Clary has been a pain in his ass ever since she blindly fainted her way into the institute. Because of this _little girl_ , they have managed to continue to break Clave rules left and right, on her behalf. 

“I’ve been looking for you guys all morning. What’s going on here?” Jace asks.

“Nothing,” He and Izzy reply in unison.

“Everything is fine. We were just talking about our next mission to the Clave,” Alec adds.

“That’s exactly why I’ve been looking for you guys. I've received information that we've been taken off the Seelie scout mission and have been assigned to a different one.”

“Who reassigned us?” Izzy asks.

“Mom.”

Alec can see Izzy’s body language tense immediately from the mention of their mother. Izzy and their mother have never been close, as much as Izzy has longed for them to be. In their mother’s eyes, Izzy was never good enough to be a Shadowhunter. It also didn’t make matters better when Max, their little brother, died under the watch of Izzy. Maryse had blamed Izzy, and Izzy had blamed herself. Alec has watched his sister change into a hardened exterior of herself. She rarely smiles or laughs. He sees more fire in her eyes as she kills demons. Sometimes he notices a little smile, appear on her face.

“So, what is the new mission?” he asks.

“We are being sent to investigate a murder of a Warlock named Alias Deacon. The Clave is suspicious that it has a connection with Valentine. They are worried that he has become more desperate in his pursuit for the Mortal Cup."

Alec recognized that name. Magnus had mentioned a dear friend of his name Alias, who he grew up with, centuries ago. He must be in a lot of grief. Alec shakes his head from the creeping thought of Magnus. He was supposed to be distancing himself from any thought of him.

Clary speaks up. “The Clave also gathered intel that the warlock that was murdered was a friend of Magnus's. The Clave wants us to gather any information about the murder. They are worried that the warlocks will deem the Clave responsible for the attack on one of their own. They still blame the Clave for not keeping a tight enough leash on Valentine and his forsaken.”

Tension laces the room at the mention of Clary’s father. Clary has not spoken much about him since they discovered that Valentine was creating an army of rogue shadowhunters called, the forsaken. The Clave have kept a close and weary eye on her, not sure if she should be trusted, because of who her father is. Even Alec, had been weary of her presence. But, after the past month, he has learned a couple of non-annoying things about, Clary Fray. She is good, and she loves her friends, too much. To the point that her blind love, tends to lead he and his siblings running after her, to stop her getting killed. 

“So the Clave wants us to do what, exactly?” Alec asks.

“They want us to gather any information about why Valentine killed the Warlock. There has to be a connection. The first person they want us to gather intel on, Magnus Bane.”

Once again, Alec flinches at the name. Izzy is the only person that knows that he and Magnus ended things. Jace and Clary are oblivious to this change.

“What does Magnus have to do with this?”

“He has everything to do with this, Alec. One of his members was killed in his domain. There could be more going on that we don’t know. And talking to Magnus, will hopefully lead us to the answers.” Jace hands over a file containing information that they needed to build upon on the mission.

Alec opened the file and read over its contents, briefly. He closes it slowly, after finishing it.

“When do we leave?”

“Tonight.”

A strong voice appears behind Jace and Clary. They all turn to look at Lydia Branwell making her way towards them. Alec’s heart drops. It's too soon. He hasn’t prepared himself to see her. Her strawberry blonde hair is pulled back into a tight pony tail. She is clad in all black, like the rest of them. Her green eyes are striking, and observant. Her lips stained red, with lipstick. He notices a parabatai rune on her chest. Alec wonders who her parabatai is, and where they are.

The four of them bow their heads respectfully to her. 

“I’m glad to hear that you have looked over the contents of the mission,” She says as her eyes travel to each of them. Her eyes soften and linger a tad longer on Alec.

 “My name is Lydia Branwell, envoy from the Clave. I’ve been appointed accompany you on this mission, to assure that nothing goes wrong.”

An awkward silence falls around them.

 “Shall we begin provisions? I’ve always wanted to meet the famous, Magnus Bane.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe the amount of positive feedback over the first chapter! I had to find a way to continue this. So, thank you for reading and encouraging me to continue. I would like to thank my Beta,TheLostWeasley, for all the help! xoxo


	3. Chapter 3

Alec lifts another black shirt for the mission, into his small back pack. The sound of assured knocks at his door, jostles him upright.

“Yes?”

The knocking stops and there is no reply at the door. He sets his unfolded shirt and walks to the door. He opens it to find Lydia Branwell in front of him. He bends his head slightly as sign of respect.

“May I come in?”

He hesitates for a couple of seconds before widening the door and allowing her inside his room. He closes the door, his breathing haggard from anxiety. Alec turns around to find Lydia’s eyes roaming around his minimal room. A simple black themed bed, with a writing desk with books about archery, and a small corner where he keeps his collection of bows that he has used throughout the years. Her eyes finally rest on him.

“I understand that you’ve been the acting head of this institute while your parents have been at the Clave. Am I correct?” She asks.

“Yes.”

“I see.” She leans back on his desk and fold her arms. “So, you are aware of the concerns the Clave has in response to the increased demon activities going on in New York.”

Alec nods. He doesn't understand why she’s reviewing all of this, to him. He knows the Clave is suspicious and worried about the unsanctioned missions. His mother and father have had several meetings with several Clave members, ever since they announced to him about the political alliance. That is something he wouldn’t be forgetting.

“Our marriage…” Lydia begins. Alec’s hands twitch at the word. Her words sound as if it were a simple business deal. “Is to ensure that your family name is not tainted by the lack of stability in this institute. I’m sure if this mission is executed well, the Lightwood name will not have a stigma around it.”

Alec loosens a bit. “Yes.”

Her arms uncoil themselves from her chest. “The Clave has everyone’s best intentions. Do not mistake this marriage with unfairness. The Clave is giving your family a second chance to redeem yourselves.”

She pauses, before taking a break and continuing. “I, Lydia Emilia Branwell, hope this marriage will be successful in all manners of speaking. And by the Angel Raziel, I will do my part to make it so.”

Alec is surprised at her words. She sounds determined and certain that this marriage will be successful. He can see the Clave in her, the discipline and the loyalty.

“You seem to be very loyal to the Clave,” Alec acknowledges. 

Her eyebrows raise. “As should you.”

“Of course,” he says smoothly.

His room has turned to a sour atmosphere. He shakes his head, berating himself from not seeing what he’s expected to say. Lydia has given him an oath of loyalty and stability, a ritual that all Shadowhunters who are to be united, give to each other before their union. Alec straightens and fixes his gaze on her. This is for his family, is what he keeps reminding himself, through his head. Heavy is the head that wears the crown, and his crown is as heavy as stones.

“I, Alexander Gideon Lightwood, hope this marriage will be successful in all manners of speaking. And by the Angel Raziel, I will do my part to make it so.”

A look of understanding is exchanged between them. But, Alec sees something more in Lydia’s eyes. A hint of sadness,masked by strength. He wants to ask, but he pushes the thought out his head. This union is not about emotions, it is about duty.

Lydia takes calculated steps towards him, stopping at his side. She faces forwards, not looking at him. Alec notices how small she is, compared to him.Well, everyone is small, compared to him. But, the way she carries herself with discipline and authority, compensates for her size. 

In a quiet voice she says, “I too, did not have a choice in this arrangement. So, I understand your feelings towards it. However, in this line of work, it is necessary that we rule with our heads, not with our hearts. That being said, I cannot promise you much affection, but I can learn to support you.”

Alec’s heart squeezes at the similar words that he had said to Magnus. Maybe he could have had that one day, with Magnus. To be bound together by fate and passion, choosing to each other’s bow and arrow. But, for now, that was all a hopeful dream. A dream that he needs to burn away.

“I don’t think you can truly understand my feelings. But yes, I too, shall learn to support you.”

Lydia hesitates as if she wants to say something else, but stops. With no more words to transpire between them, she leaves his room with a small click of his door closing. Alec releases a breath that he hadn't realized he was holding. It all felt like a haze, in that moment. He was getting married. This was happening, and there was nothing he could do about it.He checks the clock on his bed. In a half an hour, the team is to meet in the weapons room to gear up and leave for the mission.

He has a half an hour to collect his scattered thoughts.

* * *

 

 

Clary is sitting crossed legged in her room in the institute, with her sketch pad in her lap and chalk moving swiftly across the pad. She is lost in her own world as she draws and smears the black edges into life, drawing a face that has been haunting her in her sleep. _Valentine_. Her father.

The face staring back at her seems familiar, yet so distant. A face that has shown itself to be evil and destructive. A man who still has her mother held captive. A man who has murdered thousands of innocent downworlders, and shadowhunters. Clary rips the page from her sketch pad and balls it up in her hand. The fire across the room burning brihglty, so she walks to it and tosses the sketch of her Valentine in the flames. She watches him burn. She can’t stops staring, hypnotized by the thought of seeing Valentine burn, hearing his screams as the flames sear his skin.

  _Your mother for the cup._ Clary hears those words in her head every moment she thinks of her mother. She will find her mother. She will find her no matter what, even if she has to go to hell itself, to get her back.

A strong hand touches Clary’s shoulder. She tenses, but quickly recovers, recognizing who it is. Clary leans into the touch.

“Hey,” Jace says gently, “I’ve been saying your name for several minutes, but you didn’t respond. Have you gone death or something?”

Clary turns around to find bright multicolored eyes staring down at her. Jace’s eyes are filled with worry, but his mouth is smiling. She leans up and kisses him on the corner of his mouth. He freezes for a second before putting his hand at the back of her head. Clary pushes closer to him, as he cradles her head. He hums into the kiss, causing her too twitch her nose. She pulls away.

“I’m fine, Jace” She says, quietly. Jace looks at her with a steady look, as if to see if she’s lying to him. When he doesn’t find anything, he nods slightly.

“Okay.” He takes a step back, leaving a respectable space between them. He is back to being the Jace, the GI Joe.

“It’s time for us to leave, have you packed your things?” he asks.

Clary walks over to the small chair next to her bed and grabs her bag. She puts her small parcel of chalk in it, along with her sketch pad.

“I’m ready.”

“Good. Let’s meet the rest, downstairs.”

Jace turns around and walks out the door. Clary’s eyes find themselves back to the fireplace, her sketch is black ashes, by now. But, it is almost as if she can still see his face in flames, like the angel of death riding on his chariot, ready to wreck pain and chaos to everyone he encounters. Clary turns away from the image, and follows after Jace.

* * *

 

Alec grabs his bow from the weapons rack and glamors it, as the rest of them wait for Clary and Jace to make their appearance. Izzy is putting on lipstick next to him, while Lydia is reading over another file sent over, from the Clave. When Izzy had arrived, she had given him a pointed look. Alec had shaken his head and had continued to glamor his arrows. Lydia had walked in just seconds after, and had acknowledged Izzy with a small smile, the first one he had seen since she had arrived that morning. It had transformed her face. She truly was, beautiful. But, she would never be him.

At that moment, Clary and Jace walk in. He wonders what has taken them so long, but decides to make away with that thought, because he really doesn't want to know. Alec fastens his bow behind him, arrows in place, next to it. They disappear moments later with the help of his disability rune. 

“I’ve contacted our intelligence is Pandemonium about what is going on with the Warlocks. There has seems to have been another murder of a warlock. The Clave is right. Valentine is getting desperate"

Alec catches Clary’s eyes. She lowers her head. He almost feels bad for her. He continues, “this isn’t like any mission we’ve had before. Downworlders are dying at the hands of an army of abominations. We should all be on high alert, and follow what has been prescribed for this mission.”

Once again, Alec gives a pointed look at Clary, with the addition of Jace. Jace seems to lose all sense when it comes to Clary, and Alec worries that any misstep, could bring more negative attention to their family.

“Okay, lets g−”

He’s interrupted by a ringing phone. They all turn to Clary. She digs around her saddle bag for the peeping nuisance. Seconds later, she pulls out her phone and says, 'Simon' before answering it. Alec rolls his eyes. How can one mundane be such a pain in his ass?

“Simon?” “Simon, what’s going on?” “I can’t hear you.” “Simon? Simon!” Clary pulls her phone away from her ear and looks at it. 

She looks up at the rest of them, her forehead creased with worry. “He sounded so scared. It was hard to hear what he was saying, he was trying to tell me something, but his words were jumbled, and he kept coughing. Then the line went dea-”

Jace interrupts her, “I’m sure your _mundie_ friend is fine. We have more important things to worry about, like a homicidal maniac killing downworlders.”

Clary’s expression turns from worry to anger in a splint second. “Yes, I know that, Jace. But, that _mundie_ friend, is _my_ best friend. And if he’s hurt in anyway, I need to be there to help him.” Jace scowls.

Alec has had enough of this. They are wasting time. He watches Lydia through the side of his eyes. Her expression is guarded, but he can tell she’s observing this, taking notes. Notes for the Clave.

“Enough,” Alec says.

The two of them look at him. Alec is astonished at how similar the two of them are. They are both, so stubborn.

“We need to go, no−”

A loud scream rings through the building. All of them turn to the source of it. There, Simon is standing, barely, in front of institute's entrance. The shirt he’s wearing is covered in blood, his skin is pale and sickly.

“Oh my god. Simon!” Clary runs towards him. She catches him before he falls to the ground.

“Simon? Jesus, Simon, what happened? Who did this to you?” Her voice is frantic as she tries to pull him up. She turns her head to the rest of them.

“A little help here!”

Izzy, Jace, and Alec make their way down the steps and towards the two of them. As Alec inches closer, he notices something. He enables his hearing rune, which allows him to amplify his general senses. He can’t hear anything. He can’t here a single thing. Realization dawns on him. Simon's heart is not beating.

“He has been bitten,” Alec says out loud.  Cary looks at the limp body next to her, terror overtakes her face as she slowly realizes what this means.

“No,” the word said, barely above a whisper.

Simon moans and writhes in pain.

“Simon?”

In staggering breaths, Simon answers, “Clary…?”

“I’m here. I’m here, Simon You're going to be fine. We're going to fix you, I promise," she assures him.

Alec watches as Simon pulls his head up slowly, his eyes bloodshot with lust. As if in slow motion, Simon leans in to bite Clary’s neck. Alec and Jace take a take a step towards them, but before they can move any further, a blur of a figure passes them.

Lydia grabs a hold of Simon and pushes him down to the ground, and also somehow managing to push Clary out of the way, at the same time. The glimmer of her seraph blade is pointed at Simon’s neck. Lydia raises the angelic weapon above her head and lowers it.

“No!” Clary screams.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!  
> Thanks for reading this fic. I decided to change my title, because I think this new title fits better. What do you guys think?
> 
> Kisses to my beta: TheLostWeasley


	4. Chapter 4

Alec takes a couple of steps forward, but  Jace beats him by activating his speed rune. He catches hold of Lydia's arm before she completes her strike. Lydia's attention is still on Simon's fear stricken body. He is shaking body beneath her. She rips her hand away from Jace's grasp and raises herself up from her knees. She turns to Jace, her eyes glaring brightly.

 "Don't _ever_ touch me like that again," She says through clenched teeth. A strawberry blond curl escapes from her high pony tail, landing on her flustered cheek.

She recedes her seraph blade and she moves away from Simon's body on the floor. Lydia walks back to where Alec and Izzy are standing, both in shock at what had just happened. Lydia had almost killed Simon without a second thought. Her speed and accuracy had been unlike any of them had ever seen before. She stops in front of Alec.

 "Something has to be done about him."

 Alec looked behind Lydia. Clary has made her way back to Simon, again and is trying to help him up, even after he almost attack her. Alec will never understand these people. He nods slightly at Lydia. "Jace, Clary, and Izzy. You're going to stay here with Simon, while Lydia and I continue on the mission," he announces.

 Jace's head whips up. "What? Alec, no. We're parabatai. Where you go, I go."

 "I'm well aware of that, Jace. But, we can't leave Simon here alone while he's newly turned. He's hungry. Look at him. He’s literally shaking for blood. You and Clary take him down to the basement of institute and keep him there. Izzy will help. No one should bother you there. Make sure he gets blood, “Alec ordered.

 "Where do you suppose we get that blood, exactly?" Clary's tone is tense and pungent. Alec rolls his eyes.

 "You should be lucky we aren't throwing him out, of the institute. He shouldn't even be here. I don't know. Make a stop at a blood bank, kill a bunny, I don't care. Just make sure he's under control."

 Clary huffs. Alec looks at Jace, who had been staring daggers at him. Things between them continue to be tense. He notices the smallest changes in Jace. The lack of cooperation, the tunnel vision or should he say, the _clary vision_ that he has. Jace was losing focus of the big picture and losing focus on Alec. He no longer feels for Jace what he had once felt for him. The unrequited love; Magnus had filled that void, that longing. He had shown Alec what if felt to feel something, for someone.

 After an insufferable standoff between them, Jace backs down and nods his head sharply. With the help of Clary, the two of them manage to get Simon up and carry him out of the back doors of the institute. Izzy walks past him, giving him a look before following Jace and Clary.

 Lydia sighs next to him. "Let's go."

* * *

 

 The sound of booming techno music vibrates throughout his body as he Lydia makes their way through the sea of moving bodies. Alec awkwardly tries to avoid touching people who are dancing wildly to the club music. He looks next to him at Lydia, who he sees was tense as she watches the downworlders around them. She catches his eye.

 "We've been here for thirty minutes. If Magnus Bane was here, we would know by now," She exclaimes

 "Magnus Bane never shies away from a good party. I'm sure he's here."

 Her eyebrows raise. "You know Magnus Bane? Do you know him well?" Her voice was fill with surprise and a little bit of shyness.

  _Shit_. "I-I uh- I know _of_ him. He's very well known here. You know, him being th-the High Warlock of Brooklyn and all." Alec clears his throat. Even when Magnus isn't around, he still manages to get flustered. Lydia nods in agreement. The two of them make their way to a back corner of the club where they can survey the space completely. Alec leans back on the wall. The loud music is giving him a headache.

 "I'm really intrigued to meet Magnus Bane," She starts.

 Alec groans internally. Is she trying to torture him? Did she not realize how much talking about Magnus was killing him? Of course not. No one knew. Only Izzy, Jace, and Clary knew about their relationship. If anyone else from the Institute, or even worse, the Clave knew about his relationship with a warlock, more unfavorable eyes would be turned to him. More eyes he doesn't need right now.

 "Did you know that my ancestor Henry Branwell, knew Magnus Bane centuries ago. My Henry, helped Magnus create the first portal?" She gushes.

 Alec can clearly tell the excitement in her voice when talking about her family. Now, that was something Magnus had never told him about. Well, to be honest. Magnus hadn't talked whole lot about his past with him, when they were together. Alec had always wanted to ask, but was unsure of what to say and wanted to tread carefully, although Magnus had told him that he could talk to him about anything.

 "No. I didn't know that. That's uh, fascinating."

 A moment of no talking fell between them. Lydia squints her eyes at him. After a moment, the sound of light giggles fill their little corner. Alec is taken aback. He has no clue what is going on and what was so funny. Alec watches uncomfortably as Lydia continues to gasp for breaths. It takes her a couple of minutes to calm herself enough to speak.

 "I'm sorry. That was-sorry. I just think this situation is so funny. We're at a downworlder club, waiting for a sparkly warlock to show up, while I'm here babbling at how amazing he is. I sound like such a fangirl."

 Alec shakes his head in amusement. A flash of glitter catches his eyes. He stops. It's him.  Magnus had swiftly entered a back room similar to the one he, Jace, and Izzy, had fought demons when they first encountered Clary.

 "He's here," He says to her.

 Lydia eyes surveys the club.

 "He went into one of the back rooms." Alec points to the back room, across the club. "Over there" Lydia leads the way.

 The closer they walk towards the room, the more Alec feels irritated, as if a thousand ants are crawling across his skin. He doesn't want this. He doesn't want to see him. Not now, not this soon. He had tried to call Magnus the next day, after he had broken things off. After two rings he had hung up the phone. He couldn't make himself talk to him- to hear his voice. That smooth voice, alluring and hypnotic voice, capturing him every time Magnus spoke. That same voice had also cracked brokenly, when Alec had told him that he was engaged.

 Lydia moves the heavy curtain away. Alec is behind her. They enter. Alec eyes are infiltrated by the bright disco lights in the room. He wonders why he hadn't seen them when they were outside the room. Magnus's magic, most likely. He lets his eyes get more adjusted to the saturation of the room. Alec blinks a couple of times. When he opens his eyes, his heart clenches at what he sees.

 Magnus is sprawled across a long futon with several people, all who are draped around each other. All of them are touching and kissing each other, the sound of their moans fill the room. But his eyes can't move away from Magnus, whose lips are attached to another man. Magnus is wearing a red two piece suit that has glitter on it. The blazer is opened, revealing an tanned chiseled chest. Alec looks away. He isn't allowed to look. Lydia clears her throat, loudly. Magnus pulls apart from his eager partner, with a noise of irritation. Alec holds his breath.

"Well. To what do I owe this uninvited pleasure," Magnus says flatly, his eyes look passed Lydia, at Alec. 

 Alec tried so hard to look away, he really does. Lydia speaks up first.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, High Warlock. My name is Ly-"

 Magnus gets up from his position on the couch, dismissing the people in the room. They hurriedly leave, glancing at the two, he and Lydia, with skepticism.

 "Let's skip the formalities, shall we?" He motions for them to sit down.

"You are here for something. What is it?"

 He and Lydia sit down. Lydia next to Magnus, and he, next to Lydia. Alec can feel his fingers twitching, itching to touch him. He is so close, yet so far away.

 "The Clave has sent us here to gather some information about what has been transpiring around your realm. You are aware that there has been a total of three warlock deaths in Brooklyn in the past two days?" Lydia asks.

 Alec watches as Magnus studies her carefully. His eyes squinting slightly. "Yes, Of course I know. It wouldn't be my realm, if I didn't." he says, in a matter of fact.

 Lydia nods. "Good. The Clave will be happy to know that you are taking your job seriously."

 Alec gapes at her. Where is she going with this? Their mission is to get information about the murders and try to find the connection to Valentine. Not, scrutinize Magnus's job as a High Warlock.

 "What are you insinuating? That I do not take my job seriously?" Magnus asks, a pinch of anger in his voice.

 "I-I-the Clave," She stutters. "The Clave has you under suspicion of working with Valentine."

 Alec freezes. What the hell was going on? This was not in the mission reports. But, then he remembers the new folder that the Clave had sent over, only directed to Lydia. 

 For the first time, Magnus looks actively taken aback. Alec takes a hold of Lydia's arm, trying to get her attention. She turns her head towards him. He lowers his voice, so that only she can hear.

"What are you doing? This was not part of the mission reports."

 She grimaces. "I'm just following orders. I didn't want none of this to happen," she says.

 "Following orders? Magnus would never work that with that monster. Valentine is killing his own people."

 "What would you know what Magnus would or would not do? You told me you've never met him before, “she says aloud.

 Alec releases her arm. His eyes find Magnus's, behind her. Hurt eyes meet his. Alec knows that Magnus knows. That Lydia was his new fiance. He is sure Magnus connected the dots. Lydia rises from her seat next to him, and in a blink of an eye, the room is filled with members from the Clave, their seraph blades pointed at Magnus. _No_. This is not how the mission was supposed to go down. Alec gets up and takes a step towards Magnus, but freezes. Magnus is looking at him. His eyes telling Alec, to stop whatever he is thinking of doing.

 "I'm sorry this has to be this way, Magnus. The Clave may seem harsh, but we are trying to protect the shadow world, and trying to prevent another war. The law is hard, but it is the law." Lydia nods at two Clave guards, who handcuff Magnus with some kind of ward lock, which prevents the use of a warlock's powers.

 "We'll be taking you back to the institute for interrogation. And if you do not cooperate, we will be forced to have the Silent Brothers do their job"

 The Silent Brothers? What is the Clave thinking. You can't send just anyone to the Silent Brothers, there is a 50/50 chance that a person who goes to the Silent Brothers, come out a live. Alec is expecting something, anything. Magnus is silent and looks defeated. What is he doing? Where is the Magnus Bane that always defends himself and doesn't let people toss him around?

 "Lydia. Listen to me, you are making a big mistake. If other warlocks catch noise of thi- you are arresting the High Warlock of Brooklyn, they will revolt."

 She turns to him, her expression dull.

"With Valentine back, we're already at war."

 Alec watches as they take Magnus away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait. School has been kicking my butt (Pre-nursing major). I hope you guys liked this chapter and thank you for reading and commenting. I feed off comments.
> 
> Enjoy


	5. Chapter 5

Clary is standing next to Izzy, as Jace is contacting an alias at the Brooklyn blood bank. It has only been fifteen minutes since Simon staggeringly made his way into the institute, covered in blood. Now, there he is, lying on a slab of stone in the institute’s basement. He has stopped withering, but his breathing is still haggard, and every once in a while a painful moan escapes him.

She doesn’t know what to do. Seeing Simon like this, is tearing her apart. Clary can’t believe that this is the same Simon that sang to her, while she got ready for their senior prom, or the Simon that carried her over the Brooklyn Bridge when she lost her shoe, in the seventh grade. Simon’s face is pale, so pale, with a glint of sweat. His shirt and jeans combo, are both covered in blood, the smell pungent. She turns her head, from the smell.

“There has been an accident near the bridge, and the hospital is using all of their blood at the bank. We’re going to have to find another alternative,” Jace says, as he makes his way to them.

“What other alternative, is there?” she asks.Her mind is going a thousand miles a second, thinking about all the possibilities of what might happen to her best friend if they don’t get him what he needs.

“If we don’t get him blood, he’s going to die, right? Wait, but he’s already dead. What will happen to him, Jace?”

Clary has no idea about the supernatural world that she has been thrust into. Seelies, vampires, werewolves, there all told in stories, myths, and legends. She never dreamed that she would actually encounter them in real life, let alone that Simon has become one of them.

She feels a hand on her arm.

“Clary, we will save him. Jace is right. We have to think of another alternative fast, or else Simon will die of thirst. He will be stuck in a sort of, how do you mundanes say it?” Izzy scrunches her nose quizzically. "Limbo."

Clary turns to Simon. So, if they don’t find human blood fast, her best friend will be die of thirst, literally. She turns to Jace, who is pacing across the room, his arms folded in front of him. She knows that Jace doesn’t like Simon. But the fact that he’s here, with her, supporting her, and helping her save her best friend, makes her happy. She would have to thank him, and Izzy, after they save Simon.

She walks to the middle of the large basement, “Camille did this to Simon. She’s also a vampire, and that means that she needs blood. We have to go to Hotel Demourt, and find where she keeps her blood.”

Jace stops pacing.

“You do know that we killed their own, when we went to rescue Simon, right? How do you think they’ll react when we march our way to their turf, to take something that they live off of?”

Clary sighs. “I know, Jace. I-just…I need to save him. He needs me. He needs all of us. It’s my fault that he’s in this state. If it weren’t for me, he wouldn’t have been kidnapped…he wouldn’t be dead.”

He shakes his head. Again and again, Clary cares too much, something that he has always been taught, to suppress. “Love makes you weak”, his father had told him, as he had watched his father twist the head of his falcon. He had been only seven years of age. He had been so excited to show his father that he had taught the bird. But his father had told him to tame it, not to love it.

A lesson he has kept with him ever since he watched his father die in front of him. The same lesson that he has discarded time and time again, ever since Clary came into his life. It is as if, Clary makes him go mad. She is careless, stubborn, and so ignorant, of the world that she is a part of. But, these things are the reasons he keeps coming back to her.

She had kissed him, in front of everyone in the institute. He had kept her at arm’s length after she rushed into his arms, after the attack at the precinct. They had found finally found the Mortal Cup, something he never thought he would see with his actual eyes. Clary had surged into him, her lips capturing his. He had wanted to push her away, fight her off of him. But he hadn’t. He had fallen into her, like a wave, his heart had surged. Is this what his father had warned him about? Loving someone? Was that such a bad thing? Couldn’t he love her, and still be strong?

“Jace?” Clary’s voice pulls him out of his thoughts.

“Okay,” he answers. Clary is right. Durmort has what they need, and for what limited time they had, it was their best choice. “We’ll go the hotel Dumort. But, you have to promise me that you will stay by my side, the entire time.”

She walks to him, her face visibly changing to relief. He notices how different she looks from the wide eyed red head, that she was when he had saved her from a shapeshifter. She looks more confident, strong. He has watched her train with Alec, every other day. She was surely smaller than his parabatai, but she was clever and creative in her ways of taking Alec down.

The first time Jace had seen her get the better hand of Alec, he had only came to the weapons room to sharpen his blade. The flash of bright red hair, had caught his eyes, and he had watched as Clary circled herself around Alec. Her eyes were wild, like a she-wolf stalking her pray. She had reminded him of his father, when he had trained him. His father had been a sight to behold, in combat. His face calm, but his eyes wild with vigor. He wonders if his eyes are like that when he battles. Does he look like his father? Would he have been proud of him?

Jace’s hand is grabbed, softly by Clary. “I promise you, I won’t leave your side,” she says earnestly.

Jace pauses before answering, with a nod.

“Okay.” He turns to Izzy. “Let’s go to the Hotel Dumort.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Sorry for this long overdue chapter. I'm finally done with with my first year of college! *throws confetti* So, now I have plenty of time to write! This chapter was a Clary and Jace chapter. Just letting you know ahead of time that, this fic is going to be a multi-storyline fic, and will not only focus on Magnus and Alec. Hope that is okay with you.
> 
> Next chapter preview:  
> Magnus is questioned by Lydia and other Clave members, as Alec watches helplessly as Magnus says nothing. Can Alec save Magnus from the City of Bones before it's too late? Why is Magnus going to so willingly? What does he know? Stick around for chapter 6 of "A Heavy Crown".
> 
> Thank you for reading.


	6. Chapter 6

Alec isn't sure what to do or what to think. He had followed as Lydia and the rest of the Clave members chartered off Magnus as if he was some criminal. He isn't. Magnus is good, he would never ally himself with Valentine. The same man who had massacred hundreds of downworlders during the Clave revolt. Why would the Clave think that Magnus was helping Valentine. Alec had to get to the bottom of this.

Alec tires to push his way through the line of Clave soldiers. After a herculean feat, he manages to find himself walking side by side with Lydia, as they near the interrogation room. He lowers his voice, only for their ears.

"Lydia, we don't have to do this. The Clave-they're wrong. They have to be."

Lydia eyes stare straight ahead. Her jaw is set, but he can tell he's getting to her. "Alec. I'm following orders."

"I know. I-I just think that this is all a misunderstanding. Please, postpone the interrogation. Let me talk to him."

She turns her head. "You lied to me," she says, her blue eyes dark under the candle lit tunnels. "You told me you've never met Magnus. But, it's clear that you know him more than you put on. Why? Why would you lie to me?"

Alec's steps falter a little. He wants to tell her, he really does. But, what good would it do? What purpose will it serve? They are to be married. No feelings he has for Magnus, will be able to reverse that. No matter how much he pleads and begs with his parents. This is set in stone, and not even God can crack it.

"I don't know."

He hears Lydia laugh sharply under her breath. "I see."

"Lydia," Alec says evenly. "You of all people know about mistakes. Wha-"

She stops suddenly. The two soldiers in front of them stop, along with the two soldiers holding on to Magnus. Behind them, the Calve soldiers stop, in attention. She looks behind Alec, addressing them. "Make sure, that the High Warlock is put comfortable in his holding room. I will be inside to begin the interrogation, in a short time." The soldiers nod at her words. They send Magnus into the room. He doesn't even look once, at Alec.

Lydia turns to him. Her stance tall and strong, everything a shadowhunter should be. In this moment, she reminds him of his mother.

"What were you implying by those words, Lightwood?" Alec has never heard her refer to him like that, before. She was insinuating dominance. And he is required to yield. But, he can't. This isn't the way, not like this. 

"Your mother-the Slovakian ambush. It wasn't an ambush at all, was it?"

Lydia looks up at him with widened eyes. Alec has never seen such fear in a person's eyes. Her mouth opens and closes. After a couple of seconds of silence, Lydia closes her mouth in a thin line. There were only a select few of people that knew about the truth of what happened that night. How, the oldest Lightwood knew anything, was causing her mind to explode in questions.

"Speak," she says softly, but with sharpness.

"I've only been to the Clave a couple of times. I had always found myself in the Great Library, in the Accords Hall. Not only does the library have the surviving copies of the Shadowhunter's Codex, but it also has mission reports from all the institutes around the world. My father had asked me to search for a report of a mission to the New Mexico werewolf pack, carried out by some of our own. A couple of shadowhunters had been injured, and the mission report wasn't well written. While looking for it, I stumbled across the Slovakian ambush reports."

He watches her carefully. She is looking at him, unnerved. Her eyes unblinking and steady. "I read them. All ten pages, of them. And, not once, in the reports was there a mention on how they were ambushed. All the mission reports stated, was the mission, who was there, who died, and what could have done better"-he narrowed his eyes-"Why?"

Lydia closed her eyes, looking almost defeated. Her squared shoulders slumped, making her look younger. Alec forgets that, she is but only two years older than he is. And yet, she has seen more battle, more loss, and more horrors, than many other shadowhunters of her age.

"It was my fault." She turns her head to the side. "I made a mistake, and it cost many lives."

Alec waits silently for her to continue. "I was ordered to scout the building before we were supposed to enter. I had been distracted."-She blushes-"There was a shadowhunter, named John Monteverdi, he and I were...involved. He grew up with me, in the Lisbon institute. We trained together and we learned to feel for each other. Short story short, I let my heart overtake my mind, my duty. I made a careless mistake, which resulted in the vampire's attacking and killing them all. When we heard the screams, both of us had ran to the building. We were attacked by three vampire's coming around the corner. John was good. He was strong, passionate, and wild. I managed to kill one, but another caught me by my braid, while John was finishing the other. I can still feel it's claws around my throat." 

Her hand went to her neck. 

"I begged him, I told him to leave, to go and help the others. But, he refused to. He told me-he told me, he loved me. That I was his, and he was mine. That's when another vampire came behind him, and snapped his neck." Lydia's voice broke at the end, as if she could see the whole event displayed in front of her. "I killed him, I killed my mother-"

He cut her off. "You didn't kill them, Lydia. The vampire's did."

Her head snapped up. "But, if I hadn't had been distracted, If I hadn't confused my job with my heart, If I hadn't-fallen in love, he would still be alive, and so would my mother."

"I-" Alec starts.

"Enough! You've made your point. I do not want to hear more of it. This will not change anything. I have been ordered to do this, and I will not let the Clave down. They spared me...my family. I will not make another mistake. Emotions are nothing but a distraction."

Alec nods.

"That is why, you will not be allowed in the interrogation room."

"Bu-"

 "I don't know what is going on between you and the warlock, and frankly I don't care. But, it's a liability. **You** are a liability."

And with that, she turns around and walks into the room, leaving Alec alone. His heart is pounding wildly in his chest, he almost thinks he hears it echo in the space. He had thought that he could make things better, but he has only made it worse.

The sound of his booted feet fill the tunnels, as he walks back towards the entrance of the tunnel.Once again, Magnus is so close, but yet so far away from him. The need to touch him, hold him, kiss him, was unbearable to Alec. Why does it have to be this way? Why can't he choose his own life, his own happiness?

Alec had tried reaching Jace and Izzy, but neither of them had picked up his call. He hopes that they are taking care of the Simon business sufficiently. He didn't need another headache in his life. He just wants everything to go back to where it was. Before Clary, before Simon, before Lydia, before Ma-. No. Never before Magnus. Magnus is the only good thing that has come out of this whole mess. He is sure of it. And that is why has to do everything in his power to save him, or at least try to.

Tunnels are well lit by candles hung down from the ceiling, harnessed by steel holders. The hard pavement made even the quietest of footsteps seem the loudest. The walls were covered in ancient script narrating the fall of the angels. Alec has not been down here in years, since he was much younger. He and Izzy would come down here to hide from Hodge, who had been there guardian while their parents had been in Idris. Hodge was younger at that time, young and also very naive. Alec still can't believe that he ever been part of the elite Circle.

He and Izzy would use their invisibility rune, one of the few runes that they had both mastered in their young age, and slip by Hodge without him noticing. Alec knew the rune that opened the tunnel doors. It was a very ancient rune, created during the ancient wars between heaven and hell. He had watched his father draw the rune many of times when his father had brought prisoners down for questioning. Of course his father had never let him enter the tunnels, but he had been watching, observing.

"You used to come here with your sister when you were both younger. You two always thought I never noticed," a quiet voice said behind him.

Alec turned around. Hodge stepped out of the corner he had standing in.

"Hodge. What are you doing here?" Alec asks. He normally doesn't let people sneak up on him. "You should be above, the institute is on alert."

Hodge nods. "Of course. I just wanted to see how the questioning is going with that,  _Warlock_."

Alec isn't sure he likes the tone of voice that Hodge uses when emphasizes the word Warlock. As if it was some kind of disgusting thing.

"That Warlock, is the High Warlock of Brooklyn and he should be referred to with respect," Alec says through clenched teeth. "Understood?"

The other man raises a golden brow. 

"Look. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap. I-just."

"It's fine. I understand. You are under a lot of pressure. You have a huge burden to shoulder. Heavy is the head that wears the crown." Hodge puts a hand on his shoulder, something he has done since Alec was little. "It's a hard path you have been raised to walk on. But I know, you will walk it wisely, Alec."

Alec shakes his head, his shoulders drooping in defeat. "I wish I didn't have to walk any path, at all."

The hand leaves his shoulder. He looks up to to see Hodge smiling at him, warmly. "Don't we all? This is the price we pay as shadowhunters," he says.

"You don't understand, Hodge." Alec wants to fall to the hard tunnel ground and curl up in a ball. Make himself as small as possible to the world that has always forced him to be taller. Everyone is telling him what to do, who to be. His parents, Izzy, Jace. No one is asking him, what he wants to do, what he wants to be.

Wanting Magnus was the tip of the iceberg. Wanting someone who was male, a downworlder. He can hear his mother's berating words, already. Y _ou've disappointed us, Alec. All this for a downworlder? For Magnus Bane?_

"You just-you just don't understand, Hodge," Alec says quietly.

"Hmm...I think I do. You see, I've been in your same shoes. Wanting someone I could never have."

Alec looked up sharply.

"Yes. I know-" 

Alec sucks in a sharp breath. The tunnel walls seem to be closing in on him, suffocating him.

 "-about your relationship with the Warlock."

Alec closes his eyes. His breathing is harsh and trickling. It was one thing for Izzy, Jace, and Clary to know about him and Magnus, but for Hodge to know? 

He opens his eyes. "I-I don't know what you're talking about," Alec says tentatively.

Hodge smiles. "Oh, but, I think you do, Alec. You weren't as discrete as you thought. Sneaking in early in the morning before patrols, leaving after evening meetings..."

There is no use trying to deny it. Alec lets out a breath. "What are you going to do?"

The older man shakes his head, amusingly. "Alec. I didn't tell you of my awareness so that I could frighten you."

"So why did you tell me, at all?"

"Alec. You are not the only...gay shadowhunter. There are others." Alec's eyes widen. Although, ignorant of him to think so, he never thought of there being other people, other shadowhunters like him. He couldn't hide the feeling of being alone in this world of laws and duty.

"There is nothing to be ashamed of," Hodge says calmly. "However, from what I gather, you had no clue that there were others like you. That means that, they have done a good job."

"A good job at what?"

"Of hiding themselves. Yes, there are other different people, but that doesn't mean that the Clave is welcoming. You know how the Clave treats differences. If these other shadowhunters were to, hmm....what do these mundanes say? Come out. The Clave would consider it blasphemy. Unnatural. They would consider **you** , an abomination"-he raises an eye brow and crosses his arms in front of him-"that is why I'm telling you this. You can't be who you are. At least, not now. Maybe one day, the Clave will be more open minded. But, that day, is not today."

The door to the interrogation room opens, and Lydia walks out. He and Hodge both turn around. Lydia makes her way to them.

"Starkweather. I think your gifts are needed more upstairs, than here. Please return to your post." Her authoritative voice filled the space.

"Of course." Hodge bows his head in respect, and leaves the two of them.

"What happened? Did he say anything?" Alec asks. "Is he okay?"

"He is fine. And no, he didn't say anything. Actually, he didn't talk at all."

Alec fingers find their way in his unruly hair. _What is Magnus doing?_ He of all people knows the laws of the Clave. He knows what happens to prisoners who refuse to talk.

"He did, however, say that he would talk, if you were the one interrogating him," she says slowly.

"And?" he inquires.

Lydia nods her head towards the door. "Go in." -Alec lets out a breath and makes his way to the room- "Keep your emotions in check, Alec. There are more bigoted Clave members, than there are open minded ones, in there."

He turns around. She is staring at the wall in front of them. There, is a painting of the angel, Raziel in all his glory. 

She says quietly, "sometimes, I wonder if he is looking down at us thinking if we were what he expected, when he created us." Alec follows her gaze towards the painting.

"I don't know," he answers.

Lydia moves her gaze away. "Okay, let's go in. We've wasted enough time. Valentine does not rest, and neither should we."

They enter the interrogation room.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys liked this chapter. Probably one of my favorites I've written. I really like making up Lydia's background with the help of the show, of course.
> 
> Next Chapter: Clary, Jace, and Izzy make their way to the Hotel DuMort. They are intercepted by Raphael, who isn't very happy they're back on vampire turf. Can the three of them find a way to get past Raphael, in time to get the blood, and save Simon? Tune in next time, to the 7th chapter of, "A Heavy Crown".
> 
> -ImperialWeekend


	7. Chapter 7

Clary tightens her hand on her seraph blade at her thigh. Before they had left the institute, Izzy had given her a leather holster strap that could secure the blade comfortably on her upper thigh, giving her quick access to it, if the time was needed. 

Her hands are moist from nerves. It has only been a couple of weeks, since she arrived at the New York institute, and only a couple of weeks, since she had a first kill. But even though she has been training, she still doesn’t feel confident enough.

The soft footfalls of Jace beside her, give her a little warmth of comfort. In the evening haze, his multicolored eyes are focused on the sidewalk ahead of them. The streetlights above them, bring out the golden strands of hair on his head. 

Clary had promised that she would not leave Jace’s side during this mission, and she would keep her promise. The blood red outline of the Hotel DuMort’s sign glows dimly in the night, casting red shadows around the street corner.

Izzy stops a little before the entrance of the hotel. She turns to Clary and Jace. Her dark brown eyes are bright under the lights. Tonight, she is wearing a simple black leather jumpsuit which reminds Clary of, Cat Woman’s costume in the 'Dark Knight Rises'. Her long black hair is pulled back in a high pony tail, not a hair out of place. Her lips, of course are perfect red. She smiles at them, ready for the mission.

“The vamps are probably on high alert from our last run in with them. We need to split up,” Izzy says.

Jace nods. Clary waits patiently as the two of them talk strategy. She looks up at the hotel. The place looks vacant and worn down. But Clary knows, that inside, are several floors of vampire’s. She remembers how cold it had been, when they had first arrived to rescue Simon. She also remembers how much her skin had been on fire when she walked in to see a blade at Simon’s neck, his eyes had been wide with fear. She had wanted to kill Raphael, then and there. But Jace had stopped her, and they still managed to save Simon.

“Clary!” Jace voice pierces through her thoughts.

Clary’s hand instinctly goes to her thigh. Jace is looking at her with a strange expression on his face. She moves her hand slowly from the tilt of the blade. Her hands find their way buried in her red leather jacket that Izzy lent her.

“Sorry,” she apologizes. Jace gets in her space, forcing her to look up at him.

“Are you okay? Because, Izzy and I can go do this alone while you wai-“

-“No!” Clary interrupts him. No, that was the last thing she wanted to do. Simon was her responsibility, she was the one to bring him into all of this. He was her burden, and she had to help save him.

“I’m fine, Jace."Jace raises an eyebrow. His eyes search her face like he had done earlier, in her room back at the institute. 

“I promise.” He nods after a couple of seconds.

“Okay. Here is the plan. Izzy is going to go through the meatpacking plant that leads into the other side of the hotel, just like last time. She’s going to distract the vamps there, while you and I are going to go on the roof and enter the door there.”

“Just like last time,” Clary says.

Jace nods with a smile. “Just like last time.”

Izzy walks over to her and pulls out her steele. Clary moves her top away slightly from her shoulder. She knows the routine. She’s getting a new rune. A couple of weeks ago, the only thing on her pale skin, were the constellation of moles on her upper arms and shoulders. Now, they have replaced with variations of red and brown symbols.

Clary looks at Jace behind Izzy, as Izzy draws a small rune on the front of her shoulder. It hurts. But, not as much as the rune that Jace drew on her to encounter the memory demon. That had been the most excruciating pain. This one feels light, after Izzy finishes etching it, into her skin. Clary feels like she can fly.

“It’s a jumping rune. It allows you to jump long and high distances,” Izzy explains.

“Thanks, Izzy.” Clary moves her shirt back in place. She can feel the new power coarse through her, giving her strength. Izzy turns to Jace.

“You and Clary, go. I’ll meet you guys inside.” She turns around and runs into the night, her high heeled boots making small clicks on the pavement.

Jace walks to the side of the hotel, where the roof top door is located. He backs into the street. No cars are out and about at this time of night. Clary watches as he starts into a splint and lifts himself effortlessly onto the roof. He lands without a sound. He turns around and looks down at her.

Clary follows his lead, and backs herself into the street as he had done seconds before. Her hand squeezes her small side bag. She feels the rush of Adrenalin, and also a hint of fear. She hates heights. A small breeze lifts her hair above her shoulders, and she feels like it’s telling her go – to fly.

She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. She holds her breath as she makes a sprint run just as Jace had done. She feels herselg being lifted off the ground. Her eyes open wide to see herself in the sky. The New York skyline twinkling around her. Her cheeks are flushed, from the wind around her. Clary’s feet land on the rooftop, not as quietly as Jace had, but softer than she had expected for her first time.

“Well done,” Jace praises her. Clary feels her cheeks warm from it.

“Thanks.”

Jace walks to the door that leads the way to the top floor of the hotel DuMort. Clary is right behind him. The door is bolted shut when Jace tries to open it. He etches a rune, that Clary recognizes, but can’t remember the name. The rune glows red, as it burns through the lock. Jace then, kicks the door open.

Clary follows Jace as they wine through the abundance of machinery and steel poles, making their way inside the hotel. Jace tells her to activate her hearing rune, so that they can hear where the vampires are.

Her hand finds its way to her thigh, again, as she holds onto the head of her seraph blade. It gives her a strange comfort in knowing that it’s there. Jace rounds a corner quickly. Clary follows him, in time to see two female vampire’s walk through the hallway that she and Jace were about to enter.

“Stay close behind me, Clary. Don’t do anything reckless,” Jace whispers next to her. His seraph blade is pulled in front of him, in a defensive stance. Her hand tightens on hers. “Follow me, let’s go.”

The two of them carefully and quickly make their way through the hotel. Clary’s eyes and ears are on high alert, as she walks behind Jace. The hide behind another wall, as a couple of more vampire’s pass them. Clary’s chest is moving up and down, at being almost caught.

They’re so close to the main room. Above them, they hear shouts, and the sound of a whip. Both of them smirk at each other. Izzy knew how to do distract alright. Jace checks the perimeter. He motions for her to follow him. The room is empty. No vampire in sight.

“You look over there”- Jace points at the other side of the room-“I’ll look over here. There has to be blood somewhere.”

Clary makes her way to the area, and looks around for any sign of blood bags. All she finds is a lot of bottles of alcohol enough to kill a person. Good thing the vampires are dead, they didn’t have that to worry about. Clary hears the recognizable woosh of air, in the room. They aren’t alone. She turns around to find Raphael in front of the door.

“You shadowhunters, never learn to stay away, do you?”

Clary pulls her seraph blade out of the holster on her thigh. She pulls it up defensively. Jace slowly makes his was to her, as Raphael watches him calculatingly.

“We didn’t come here to cause any trouble,” Jace says. He is now standing a couple of feet away from her.

A small chuckle comes from Raphael.

“Well, from where I’m standing it doesn’t look that way.” He turns around and uses his vampire speed to walk to the small bar behind them. Clary and Jace turn around to face him. He makes himself a blood martini. Clary looks at Jace pointedly. Blood.

Clary puts her seraph blade down to her side, in efforts to seem less threatening. “Raphael. We need some of your blood bags. Simon…he’s dying. He needs blood, and nowhere else has any that we need in such short time.”

Raphael takes a large gulp of his drink. A small trickle of blood runs down the side of his mouth. He wipes it away with the side of his red stained tongue. Clary wants to throw up. He smiles at her, noticing her discomfort. His sharp incisors gleam in contrast to his deep red lips.

“It’s interesting, isn’t it?”

Jace speaks up. “We aren’t playing games here, Raphael” Jace says, with a small growl.

“But, you are. Shadowhunters want nothing to do with us downworlders, unless there’s something in it for you. So, yes. Games are indeed being played here.”

“Please. Raphael. My best friend is dying,” Clary pleads.

She’s beginning to feel anxious, more so than usual. The blood at the DuMort is there last and only hope at saving Simon from dying. Again.

“No can do, niñita. Why should I give blood to your worthless friend?”

Clary’s teeth grind. “He’s not worthless. He’s smart, passionate, and had his whole life ahead of him before you and that bitch of a leader turned him into a mon-, “she stops. _Where did that come from?_

“Monster, huh?” Raphael downs the rest of his drink and walks around the bar, and with his speed, he's suddenly in front of Clary and Jace.

“Shadowhunters,” he says with disgust. His teeth show. “You think you’re so superior, don’t you? When it’s your kind that are really the monsters. Valentine made sure of that. And you're his daughter.”

“Watch your tongue,” Jace says to Raphael, sharply.

Clary feels herself swell with a type of anger she has never felt before. Her body feels tight as a bow, before it’s released with an arrow. Her fingers itch with violence. She lunges at Raphael with a speed she never knew she had.

Jace call her out to her, but she ignores him. The only thing she hears, is the blood pumping through her veins. Her blade is placed at the tilt of Raphael’s creamy white neck. He’s smiling at her, with amusement. It makes her even angrier.

“Tsk tsk, una pequeña. And you call **us** monsters,” he says with a smirk.

“Clary,” Jace says cautiously, but his voice is sharp. Around them, several members of the New York clan fill the room. Clary sees a couple more enter the room. She fixates her eyes, back on Raphael’s.

“You’re the only monster I see.” Raphael’s smile widens.

Clary’s stomach twists painfully, her hair stands up on the back of her neck. _Monster_. She looks around the room at the eyes watching her. She looks back at Jace. He’s still in his defensive stance, ready to attack if need be, but Clary can’t help but catch the fear in his eyes. Fear directed at her. She turns back at her seraph blade clutched in her hand, at Raphael’s neck. _What was she doing? What was wrong with her?_

She pulls away quickly. Her feet back themselves away, on their own accord. She falls over a small foot stool. Jace rushes over to her, and pulls her up. Her arms burns where he touches it. She has to get away from him. She pulls herself away, and takes several steps behind Jace. She needs to learn how to breathe again. Jace flashes her a look of hurt, but she ignores it.

“I would keep a tighter leash on your novia, Jace. I’d hate for her to end up like her dear friend.”

“Enough,” Jace says. “You can talk all you want, vampire. But we have the law on our side. Camille broke the accords and turned a mundane. Right now, you don’t have of a lot of wiggle room to be spitting out threats. There is nothing stopping us from alerting the Clave of her disobedience. And since it looks like, she’s not here, the judgement will be placed on your head.”

Raphael’s smirk wavers. Another vampire, comes up to Raphael’s side and mutters a couple of words too fast for him and Clary to hear, even with their enhanced hearing. Raphael’s eyes are hard as they look between Jace and Clary. The other vampire finishes, and Raphael nods his head sharply. The vampire backs away, respectfully.

“I will give you blood, in return for your silence. There will be no other option. ten blood bags,” Raphael offers.

Clary’s thoughts are muddled of what Jace and Raphael are saying, to her actions just minutes before. _She had been so quick to want to kill him. That anger. It had covered her like a blanket, like it belonged around her shoulders. She had wanted to see him bleed…to suffer. What was she becoming?_

“Okay.” Clary hears Jace agree. With a nod to two vampire’s next to large painting on a wall, the two vampire’s move the painting slightly away to reveal a number code. Seconds later, the wall opens to reveal a freezer filled with, what looks like, hundreds of blood bags. Clary watches as the two vampires assemble the negotiated blood bags.

At that moment, high heeled clicks enter the room, as Izzy runs in. She stops as several vampire’s turn to her. She lifts her seraph blade in defense. Raphael sighs. He motions them to back down. Izzy makes her way to where Clary is standing. She shoots Clary a look, but Clary avoids it.

The blood bags make their way to them, as the two vampire’s hand Clary all ten of them. With Izzy’s help, she manages to stuff them all into her side satchel. She clicks the bag closed, to secure that none of them fall out when they head back home.

“Sorry, I couldn’t distract all of them,” Izzy says quietly, next to Clary.

“You did fine, Iz” She assures her. Izzy nods, with a small smile, before looking back at Jace and Raphael.

“You invade my home, once again, Shadowhunters. This is your second, and your last time, doing so.”

“Believe me, we won’t be back,” Jace replies.

“Make sure you don’t. Ahora, vete.”

Jace nods. Clary and Izzy follow Jace out of the the hotel DuMort. Clary can feel eyes burning into her back. The three of them enter the cool air of the night. The moon is overshadowed by grey clouds. The street lights are dim. Clary walks behind Izzy and Jace, as they make their way towards the New York subway station.

She hears Jace talking quietly to Izzy, probably about her. She shakes her head, trying to erase the thoughts out her head. The way that she had felt herself slipping, falling into the deep end. She had wanted to let go, she had wanted to give in to it. The power she had felt in herself. It scares her…frightens her.

Clary notices Jace and Izzy’s footsteps stop. Izzy looks back at her, a worried look on her face. Clary turns away. Her eyes fix themselves on a small playground across the street. It looked similar to the one near her loft, that she and Simon had played in when they were younger. Clary’s heart clenches, thinking about her home. It feels like just yesterday she had come home from her interview with the Brooklyn Art Institute. Her mother had hugged her so tightly, smelling of vanilla and paint. She misses her so much. Clary doesn’t want her mother to see her like this, so filled with anger. So like him. Clary shudders.

A hand touches her on her shoulder. “Izzy is going ahead of us. She’s going to grab some food. There’s an Ethiopian food on our way back.”

“Okay,” she says quietly.

Jace’s hand moves down to Clary’s hand at her side. His larger hand covers hers. It doesn’t feel the same, anymore. Clary feels tainted…different. Jace lets go and moves his fingers under Clary’s chin, nudging her head up, to look at him.

“Whatever you’re thinking in that big head of yours, don’t.”

Clary fights the urge to smile, but she fails.

“Let’s go sit down over there.” Jace motions at a small bench facing the park that she had just been looking at.

The two of them walk over to the lonely bench. Clary clutches the strap of her bag, remembering that she has ten bags of human blood inside. She sits.

Jace wraps his arms around Clary’s at they sit and watch the park. A small light post illuminates the basketball court across from it. A couple of the swings on the swing set move back and forth from the continued breeze. Jace pulls her in tightly. She’s shaking, and it’s not from the cold.

“What happened back there, Clary? I told you to not fo anything reckless.”

She closes her eyes. She knew that the question was coming, but she had hoped that maybe, possibly, it wouldn’t.

Well, too late.

“I don’t know. I-I just. It just happened. I don’t know, Jace.”

Jace doesn’t say anything for a couple of minutes.

“Jace?”

“Sorry. I just- never mind.” He shakes his head.

Clary pulls her head up and looks at Jace. “What! Tell me...is there something wrong with me?”

Jace turns to her. He pushes a strand of curly red hair away from her eyes.

“No, no. There is nothing wrong with you, Clary. I was just-uh-thinking how you kind of reminded me of my father. I know it’s silly,” Jace laughs. But, Clary can tell that it hurts him to think of his father.

“Oh,” Clary says.

“Yeah,” he replies. The two of them sit in comfortable silence for several minutes.

“I’m scared, Jace. I’m scared I’m becoming like him. Like, Valentine. I just feel...so angry, all the time.”

Jace brushes a tear from her cheek. She didn't even realized she had been crying.

“Clary, stop. You’re nothing like that mon-like Valentine. You have one of the kindest heart’s I’ve ever known. So, you got a little carried away.That happens all the time, Clary. We’re shadowhunters, and that means we're soldiers. Fighting is in our blood.”

“Really?” Clary looks up at him, hopeful to be proven wrong. She feels like she’ll clutch on to anything that disproves that she really is Valentine’s daughter. A murderer and satan himself, in her eyes.

“Really.” He leans in and kisses a tear from her cheek. Clary’s eyes flutter shut.

“You’re not like him. You could _never_ be like him, Clary.”

“Okay,” she says.

“Okay?” Jace probes her. She rolls her eyes.

“Yes, Jace, Okay.”

“Repeat after me. I, Clarissa- “ he pauses. He doesn’t know her middle name. She laughs at him. It feels good to laugh.

“Adele,” Clary fills in the blank

“-Adele Fairchild, am not like Valentine.” Jace smiles teasingly. She can’t help but smile back.

“Clary!”

She giggles. “Okay, okay. I, Clarissa Adele _Fray_ -“

she enunciates Fray, because she hates it when people at the institute call her Fairchild. No. She is a Fray. She has been since she was born, and she will be until she dies.

”-Am not like Valentine,” she finishes. “Are you happy?” Clary ask him.

He acts like he’s thinking about it. Clary hits him playfully on the chest. He mocks being hurt, but Clary knows that he barely felt it. She rolls her eyes. She can feel the small burst of something returning, in her chest. She can’t seem to pin point what it is. But she knows, it’s good.

“Yes.” He looks at her in the eyes. “I’m happy.”

She smiles. “Me too.”

“Well, in that case. Let’s head back to the institute. Izzy should be back there now.” Jace pulls her up from the bench, and holds her hand as they cross back to the other side of the street.

“Let’s go home,” Jace says.

_Yes. Home._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Howdy! I hope you guys like this chapter. It was fun to write. Especially getting into the psyche of Clary. I'm switching things up. Instead of Jace being the one to feel like he's becoming like Valentine, I'm giving that story line to Clary. Hope that's okay. And I hope the pay off is satisfying. Thanks for reading!
> 
> Next on "A Heavy Crown"...
> 
> Alec is finally alone with Magnus. Well...not exactly alone. Clave members are listening and watching behind the interrogation screen. Emotions are heightened, and a pinch of fear is too. Magnus reveals something startling that can change the down world and the shadow world, forever.
> 
> Stay tuned for chapter 8!


	8. Chapter 8

Alec enters the interrogation room. Lydia is standing next to him, there conversation moments before lingers in the air. The room is dimly lit with small candles in all corners of the room. Two chairs are placed across from each other, a simple wooden table in between them. Sitting in one chair, is Magnus.

Magnus didn’t look up when Alec had walked in. In fact, he hadn’t even flinched. Magnus’s hands are still bound together by the enchanted ward lock. He is still wearing the suit he had worn when Lydia and Alec had arrived at Pandemonium. But now, it is rumpled and doesn’t have its grace it once had. Alec has never seen Magnus like this. He’s so still.

“I’ll leave the two of you to talk.” Lydia turns to Alec. “You have twenty minutes, Alec.”

She walks to the door across the room that leads to the viewing room. The room has a glass window and it is infused with a rune that allows the people to hear what is being said in the interrogation room.

Lydia opens the door and stops. “Remember, we’re watching and listening−so be careful what you discuss in here,” she says quietly, before leaving and closing the door behind her.

Neither of them say anything.

Alec clears his throat after a minutes of silence _._ Where does he begin? What does he say? _Magnus, I want you. I want to protect you. Whatever the Clave is trying to accuse of, it’s not true. They don’t know you like I do- they don’t know how loving and kind you are. They don’t know how much I love you-_

“I don’t like them watching.” Magnus looks up and motions at the glass mirror that allows Lydia and the other Clave members to watch, but prevents he and Magnus to see what is going on.

Alec shakes his head. “The room has a powerful rune. I’m sorry, Magnus.”

Magnus cocks his head at him. “Oh, Alec, and I am a powerful warlock.”

With a grace and ease, Magnus mutters quick Latin under his breath, and the wards around his wrists disappear, and his hands are free. He quickly stands, the sound of the chair makes a loud scraping noise on the hard floor. Magnus walks to the glass mirror, and with the grace of someone that has practiced magic for hundreds of years, he moves his arms in rhythmic motions, turning the glass mirror a blue sheen.

He turns around to face Alec. “There. We are alone now.”

Alec blinks in amazement. “Why didn’t you do that before, if you could get out of the wards?”

Magnus shrugs. “They needed to feel some sort of ccomfortbringing me in without struggle.That’s why I came so willingly.”

Alec is still confused, but he shakes it away. He is finally alone with Magnus, since the night he broke things off with him. He needs to say something. But, he first motions for Magnus to sit down from the chair he had just been sitting in. The both of them sit across from each other.

The tension in the room is thick and suffocating. “Magnus. I-I had no idea that the mission was to arrest you. If I had known, I would ne-“

Magnus interrupts him. “You don’t need to apologize, Alec.”

“I do. About what happened at your loft? I didn’t mean to say what I said. I was angry, and I projected it on you. You didn’t deserve that.”

Alec has been beating himself up about that night. The way that Magnus had looked at him like he didn’t recognize him anymore, scared him. He never wants to see that look on his face.

“It has been forgotten. Truly,” Magnus says calmly, his face showing nothing but sincerity. “I know you were angry, it’s okay to be angry, Alec.”

Alec smiles sadly to himself. “Yes. But not with someone you care about.” He raises his eyes.

He thanks the angel Raziel that, there were no prying ears listening to what is being said in the room. He should be more careful. But he isn’t sure he wants to.

“Caring for someone is something that can ascend even the greatest of threats. That is why, I value friendship. I want us to be friends, Alec.”

“Um, sure.” Alec swallows hard. He shouldn’t feel like his whole world just slid from right under his feet. Should he? He was getting married to Lydia in a short time, and him and Magnus being only just friends…that’s how it should be.

“I would really like that, Magnus.” Magnus shakes his head with a small smile.

His face turns serious. “Now. I must tell you the situation that has me, well, quite worried.” His face twists into a disgusted look. “I have been in some contact with Valentine Morgenstern.”

Alec breaths in air through clenched teeth. “What?”

Magnus shakes his head, glitter from his hair sprinkle the table between them. “Just hear me out, Alec.” Alec nods for him to continue. “Do you remember my dear friend, Ragnor Fell, the warlock I told you about?”

“Yes… his warlock mark is his green skin,” Alec answered.

“Correct. Valentine has somehow managed to find Ragnor, and is holding him prisoner god knows where.”

“And you know this how?” Alec asks. If Valentine has contacted Magnus is anyway, the Clave must know. Somehow they can find a way to track him. Lydia needs to hear this.

“Don’t even think about it, Alec.”

Alec turns his head to the Warlock. “How did you−“

“Your face is more expressive than you let on.” Magnus shrugs his shoulder. “I’ve always been able to read you.”

That, was definitely true. Alec had always been so surprised how well Magnus knew what he was feeling, without Alec having to say a word. Something, not even Jace or Izzy could easily decipher sometimes.

He clears his throat. “What does Valentine want with Ragnor? How did he contact you? What is planning on doing?”

“Please, Alec. One question at a time.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s quite alright. Desperate times call for desperate questions. For your first question, when Valentine appeared to me, I think with some kind of illusion, it looked like something with Seelie property, but I’m not sure. He told me that he has captured Ragnor.”

“How do you know he has Rangnor? Valentine is manipulative, Magnus. He could be playing a game. It wouldn’t be the first time he did.”

“He’s not lying. He has Ragnor. I saw-I saw something that proves it. A long time ago, I gave Ragnor a gift for his birthday. A small rose pendant, which I had purchased in Vienna. Valentine showed it to me. That son of a bitch dangled it in front of my face like a prize.” Magnus’s eyes were now blazing with fury and disgust.

“What does he want?” Alec asked.

“He wants something very powerful. And he needs a warlock to find it. I’m guessing Ragnor isn’t giving away its location, and I’m afraid it will cost him his life.” Magnus rises from his seat and starts pacing around the room. His right hand is doing his usual nervous tick, of rubbing his thumb with his index finger.

“The Mortal Cup? But, we have it.”

“No. The Book of The White,” Magnus answers. He walks to the opposite wall and leans his head on the wall. Alec can feel the tension from Magnus’s hunched shoulders. He wants to go and comfort him but, he isn’t sure what physical contact level the two of them are at, in terms of their new established friendship.

Alec has heard of this book. But, only mostly things he had learned in downworlder history, during his studies. The books is a powerful warlock spell book, which only select few warlocks can read and perform the spells. What did Valentine want with a warlock spell book?

“The Book of The White is considered the holy Bible to us warlocks. The book contains several different incantations for spells, some of which are black magic. But its main attraction in its pages, is a spell that can and untie the soul to the body. It is called, The Lazarus Spell.” Magnus explains.

Alec has heard of that spell, but he still doesn’t know much of it. He really should have paid more attention in studies. “What are the specifics of this spell?”

“The spell is a loophole in the Angel Raziel’s act of making more shadowhunters.”

“How? I thought only the Mortal Cup could make new shadowhunters,” Alec inquired.

Magnus shakes his head. “No, no. There is another way. A more dangerous way. The book and the guidance of the Demon Karau−“

Alec interrupts. “The Demon known for causing death in the world”

The warlock nods. He moves away from the wall he is leaning on and walks back to wear Alec is sitting, and leans his hands on the table. His cat eyes glow brightly in the dim lighting. “But with the book, it causes life.”

Shit. So, that is Valentine’s big plan. Defy the laws of the shadow world by finding a loophole in the law and balance. He’s trying to build an army of shadowhunters, and if he gets a hold of the books, the whole shadow world−no the whole world is doomed.

“The Clave must be alerted, Magnus. This is−this is bigger than we expected. It’s one thing that Valentine is trying to make an army, but another to summon death its self?” Alec raises himself from his chair. Magnus looks up at him.

“No. Not yet. Valentine is many things, but one thing he is not, is dumb. If the Clave catches wind of this, there will be panic. Alicante will be on high alert, and Valentine might do something reckless. And when Valentine gets reckless... innocent people die.”

“Bu−“ Alec starts.

“Do you trust me?” Magnus asks. His eyes are piercing and unwavering. His stance is now strong and planted. He looks ready for battle.

Alec sighs. “Yes, I trust you.”

“Then please, don’t tell Lydia. I’m afraid Valentine has ears everywhere, like little birds. If I can find a way to save Ragnor, and also locate the book, I need to do it on my terms, and not have entitled shadowhunters breathing down my back.”

“Okay. Do you have any idea where the book could possibly be?” Alec looks at the clock behind Magnus. Their time is almost up. “How are we supposed to look for the book when we’ve got Clave soldiers everywhere in the institute? They aren’t going to just let you waltz out of here.”

“Yes, I am aware of my…predicament. It has not escaped me, I assure you,” Magnus pulls away from the table.. “I think I may know where the books is. But, it is somewhere that will be almost impossible to get into.”

Alec lets out a small laugh. “I find that hard to believe from a warlock that can use a portal practically anywhere.”

Magnus puts up a finger. “Ah, but that’s the catch. But, only places I’ve been before. And the book may be in a place I’ve never dared to touch my suede footed foot in.”

“Where?”

“The Guard,” Magnus answers. The Guard is located in Idirs, specifically in Alicante. It holds the largest library of Nephilim works and downworlder works. And it’s also the most protected and guarded place in all the shadow realm.

“Crap.” Alec runs his hand through his hair. Magnus was right. This is going to be more difficult than he expected. Much more difficult.

The sound of pounding feet outside the door, catches their attention. Alec walks to the door, Magnus right behind him, and opens it to see the Clave soldiers who were supposed to be in the viewing room, running towards the entrance. Alec stops one soldier that looks to be the last one leaving the room.

“What is going on?”

The soldier looks at him, as if he were a little child. Little, Alec was certainly not.

“Someone has betrayed the institute. Lydia has been attacked and the Cup is gone.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! New chapter! Yay. Hope you guys like. I've added my own mythology to this world. I hope that's okay. Magnus and Alec are going to have a fun journey of finding the book of the white and rediscovering. Of course, with the help of the scooby gang.
> 
> Next Chapter: Jace, Clary, and Izzy arrive back at the institute during chaos. The Mortal Cup has been stolen, and Lydia Branwell has been attacked. While Izzy tries to find Alec, to get some answers, Jace and Clary head down to the Institute basement to give life to dying Simon.


End file.
